Joy Caudill

In 1967 three local Aspen women, Joy Caudill, Dottie Fox, and Connie Harvey, came together with two goals: 1. to designate the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness and Collegiate Peaks areas as wilderness, and 2. to double the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and, in special series, we're focusing on one protected area in our backyard, the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness.

It took the work of three tireless women to expand protection in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness near Aspen. In 1964, just the high mountain peaks became wilderness. So, the women, called the “Maroon Belles,” worked to more than double the size of the preserved area. Aspen Public Radio's Marci Krivonen tells their story.